Spanish Oviedo Mauser
- Thread starter CJ6
- Start date
CJ6, I found this source on the web. Looks interesting. There are also very good books on Mausers.
As with any internet source, take it with a grain of salt. That site seemed to be good IMO.
Not sure if you know Mausers, but they are a very good design especially for their day. Generally, if you stick with the original chambering, they are fine. 7x57 is a very good cartridge, again my opinion.
Of note with Mausers, they were made under contract for many countries and in many factories. They were also made in Germany, Austria, etc, for Germany of course. From my brief review of yours, early rifles were manufactured by Ludwig & Lowe, which is good. Later rifles like yours seem to have been produced in Oviedo. What I would research if I were in your position, is the reputation of the manufacturing in Oviedo Spain. From that you can make some decisions/assumptions.
It almost seems as though the Mauser design was ahead of the metallurgy at the time. Easy to make that judgement at this point in history. Having said that, they were very adequate as designed and manufactured.
The condition of the rifle has a lot to do with it as well. Many saw service, and the priming might have been corrosive. It is common to find them with rough bores. Amazingly, some of those shoot quite well.
One last thing, the 1893 Spanish is a "small ring" the 1898 design is a "large ring" Mauser. Both are very good, the latter is physically larger, and has additional safety measures engineered into them. Third lug, etc.
Best of luck, Peter.
As with any internet source, take it with a grain of salt. That site seemed to be good IMO.
Not sure if you know Mausers, but they are a very good design especially for their day. Generally, if you stick with the original chambering, they are fine. 7x57 is a very good cartridge, again my opinion.
Of note with Mausers, they were made under contract for many countries and in many factories. They were also made in Germany, Austria, etc, for Germany of course. From my brief review of yours, early rifles were manufactured by Ludwig & Lowe, which is good. Later rifles like yours seem to have been produced in Oviedo. What I would research if I were in your position, is the reputation of the manufacturing in Oviedo Spain. From that you can make some decisions/assumptions.
It almost seems as though the Mauser design was ahead of the metallurgy at the time. Easy to make that judgement at this point in history. Having said that, they were very adequate as designed and manufactured.
The condition of the rifle has a lot to do with it as well. Many saw service, and the priming might have been corrosive. It is common to find them with rough bores. Amazingly, some of those shoot quite well.
One last thing, the 1893 Spanish is a "small ring" the 1898 design is a "large ring" Mauser. Both are very good, the latter is physically larger, and has additional safety measures engineered into them. Third lug, etc.
Best of luck, Peter.
Last edited:
Kurz
Silver $$ Contributor
Spanish Oviedo Mauser 1916/1924
The original rifle was the 1893 version which pre-dated the 1898. These are cock-on-close unlike the 1898 which is cock-on-open.Also from Wikipedia:
The 7×57mm Mauser (designated as the 7 mm Mauser or 7×57mm by the SAAMI and 7 × 57 by the C.I.P.) is a first-generation smokeless powder rimless bottleneck rifle cartridge. It was developed by Paul Mauser of the Mauser company in 1892 and adopted as a military cartridge by Spain in 1893.
According to the official C.I.P. (Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives) rulings the 7×57mm case can handle up to 390.00 MPa (56,565 psi) Pmax piezo pressure. In C.I.P. regulated countries every rifle cartridge combo has to be proofed at 125% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to certify for sale to consumers.[7]
The SAAMI maximum average pressure (MAP) for this cartridge is 51,000 psi (351.63 MPa) piezo pressure or 46,000 CUP.[8][9] This lower specification is in deference to the Remington Rolling block rifles that may still be in circulation. Concerns regarding the early Mauser rifles such as the models 93 and 95 are misplaced,[9] as the original ammunition issued with the M93 Spanish Mauser produced an average pressure of 50,370 CUP in those rifles.
Please note the official average pressure of this cartridge.
CJ6
Silver $$ Contributor
The rifle is coming from a collection (estate). From the pictures I've seen I'd put it in 85 plus condition, but I can't make out any barrel stamps or markings (I asked for better pics). I have no intention of doing anything other than light cleaning and maintenance to it (no rebarrel or reblue). This will be a fun gun for open sight range and deer (if it performs ok). I do have a couple 7x57s (Rem 700) and I like the cartridge . I will look into the company and other information provided. Thanks.
CJ6
Silver $$ Contributor
I'm looking at about that price or less (175 actually). His collection is being sold by a friend of the family.
jackieschmidt
Gold $$ Contributor
When I recently did my Mauser project, (98), I read up on just about everything written about the various actions through the years.
In terms of pure ultimate strength, the small ring ‘93, on paper is not as strong as a 98. A lot of people look at the third lug of the 98 and assume it makes the action stronger. The truth is, if you do something to shear the front lugs or split the receiver ring, that third lug, (which does not touch anything), is probably going along for the ride.
All if the military vintage Mauser Actions were designed to safely handle 50,000 psi in a case head diameter of .473. Any load in that pressure range is not going to hurt anything. Where the bad press comes from is those that set them up in one of the magnum case diameters and insist on shooting 55,000+ psi loads. The military Mauser is simply not built to handle that much bolt thrust without (possibly), experiencing some lug set back.
Since none of the vintage military actions were manufactured with what we commonly call Chrome Moly alloy steels, you will experience a little lug set back long before you blow anything up if you do over pressure it. Most have case hardened surfaces to aid in wear under combat conditions. This does not add to strength due to the fact that the steel under neath that case hardened surface is simply a carbon steel alloy, probably equivelent to todays 1040.
I worked up a load for my 98 that pushes a 140 grn 7mm Ballistic Tip 2925. It is chambered in 280 Remington. I get zero pressure signs.
I have a good friend that has a small ring Spanish Mauser with a custom barrel in 7x57. He shoots 120 grn bullets at 2950 fps with no problems.
In terms of pure ultimate strength, the small ring ‘93, on paper is not as strong as a 98. A lot of people look at the third lug of the 98 and assume it makes the action stronger. The truth is, if you do something to shear the front lugs or split the receiver ring, that third lug, (which does not touch anything), is probably going along for the ride.
All if the military vintage Mauser Actions were designed to safely handle 50,000 psi in a case head diameter of .473. Any load in that pressure range is not going to hurt anything. Where the bad press comes from is those that set them up in one of the magnum case diameters and insist on shooting 55,000+ psi loads. The military Mauser is simply not built to handle that much bolt thrust without (possibly), experiencing some lug set back.
Since none of the vintage military actions were manufactured with what we commonly call Chrome Moly alloy steels, you will experience a little lug set back long before you blow anything up if you do over pressure it. Most have case hardened surfaces to aid in wear under combat conditions. This does not add to strength due to the fact that the steel under neath that case hardened surface is simply a carbon steel alloy, probably equivelent to todays 1040.
I worked up a load for my 98 that pushes a 140 grn 7mm Ballistic Tip 2925. It is chambered in 280 Remington. I get zero pressure signs.
I have a good friend that has a small ring Spanish Mauser with a custom barrel in 7x57. He shoots 120 grn bullets at 2950 fps with no problems.
CJ6
Silver $$ Contributor
Nice Jackie. I can't wait to see it after it's all done. This will be a fun gun for me. Just open sights and leaving it in 7x57, maybe a little trigger work and anything small that may have to be done. I don't know anything about the old Mausers so that's why I was asking about the strength.
The strength of the action is the least of your worries. Much stronger action than any $4-500 rifle you can buy today. I've owned one for over 30 years and hunted lots of deer and hogs with it. The 7mm Mauser cartridge is inherently accurate and flat shooting . It was designed to shoot a 173 grain round nosed projectile at 2,746 FPS. No need to shoot hotter loads out of it. With modern 140 or 150 grain spitzer bullets it will take most North American Game out to 400 yards without a problem. One caution is to make sure it has a good bore. They can look pristine on the outside but have sewer pipe bores from years of "military cleaning" and corrosive primers.
The small ring 93-96 Mausers can make decent sporters, especially the 96 Swedish versions, however they lack several things from being ideal over the LR 98 versions.
1. No third safety lug
2. Less efficient gas handling
3. All are cock on close actions.
Most of these can be offset with proper loading within the limits of the action and by optional cock on opening kits. There seems to be a preference for the Swedish or Chilian actions as they are typically “better” steel and workmanship. They make great rifles in 7x57, 6.5x55, and 300 Savage calibers.
1. No third safety lug
2. Less efficient gas handling
3. All are cock on close actions.
Most of these can be offset with proper loading within the limits of the action and by optional cock on opening kits. There seems to be a preference for the Swedish or Chilian actions as they are typically “better” steel and workmanship. They make great rifles in 7x57, 6.5x55, and 300 Savage calibers.
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